If you mean the Poser version, you are very welcome. It loaded without a hitch and bids fair to become a favourite. I hope that it brings you and everyone much joy. Unfortunately, the D|S version has turned out to be a huge problem - not the fault of Daz themselves, nor even mine, but of something inherent and deep within the program. (See posts above.)
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Let me summarise the current situation. With one thing piling on top of another, I have been almost compelled to rebuild the two end sections of the Palace. I don’t really mind this (although I grumble) because the result will be more professional and efficient. It’s all part of the learning process, which is usually absorbing. Right now, the entrances are being rearranged and my guess is that by tomorrow night the new D|S-only palace will be assembled and done. Fingers crossed. If all goes well, it should be uploaded soon thereafter.
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May I take this opportunity to thank YOU, Perlk, for your help and kindness and for your work with the render competitions. I do not make an entry because I am usually too busy building, but I watch with interest and know how much you do.

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The perennial problem with democracies is that of choosing leaders. It’s like picking teachers of sex education in schools - those who would be good at it don’t want to do it, while those who are keen would best be behind iron bars.

If it uses English language to generate commands, and it converts this to binaries, what would it do if it got hold of some Japanese? And what about symbols that arise? It would then have to pass through a translator to English for it to be read. If that is the case and all pass through the translator, maybe the problem is with the translator and it is screwing up the English text. A possibility perhaps?

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I am not this way because I am a musician, I am a musician because I am this way.

Yes, an assembler language is so-called because it translates language (English, Japanese, what-have-you) into binary and assembles it all into a binary program. It follows that each human language will have had someone write an assembler especially for it. From that we may deduce that different assemblers will (or may) contain different faults.
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The particular fault that we are concerned about hinges around the method used (in binary) to transfer data. All binary can be either command to the CPU or data to be worked upon and just by looking at it, neither you nor I can tell the difference. Neither can the CPU - that is the important point. If data is confused with a command, all hell breaks loose. That is what has been happening. Properly followed, established protocol keeps a sharp distinction between data and commands, but it is abundantly clear that somewhere along the line, proper protocol has not been followed.

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The perennial problem with democracies is that of choosing leaders. It’s like picking teachers of sex education in schools - those who would be good at it don’t want to do it, while those who are keen would best be behind iron bars.

Work is proceeding slowly, I am afraid, so the D|S-only version of BP will not be uploaded for a few days.
Sorry about that - I know that a lot of people are waiting for it. We do what we can.
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(Later) This is so bad that it has become a joke. Here is the latest error thrown up by D|S - a displacement mapping gone haywire. The normals of the building are correct, otherwise they would be black. Besides, the whole thing has been carefully redone and the normals are all double-checked. Nevertheless, the displacement mapping appears to follow rules of its own. I have never seen anything like this before and I doubt if anyone else has, either.
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It is hardly likely that English names (data) have leaked into commands again - the structure is called BP99.obj and the displacement map called BP99_DISP. The texture is called BP50.
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My thoughts at the moment are that I must try every alternative export from Hexagon and UVMapper and if that fails, remove the facets of the front and replace them in a different arrangement. I would be glad of any other suggestions.

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The perennial problem with democracies is that of choosing leaders. It’s like picking teachers of sex education in schools - those who would be good at it don’t want to do it, while those who are keen would best be behind iron bars.

Skipper, have you tried uninstalling and then reinstalling DS? Are you using the new DS4Pro? I’ve honestly not seen these errors before. I have yet to install and try DS4Pro, and now I’m wondering if I should bother.

I have uninstalled/installed quite frequently, but not lately. Perhaps I should. Actually, despite recent problems, I like D|S both for its facilities and the interface, although it is to be confessed that the gilt is going off the gingerbread. Certainly, I find myself thinking about saving my pennies and buying something really, really good.
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I guess that it’s all down to what you want to do and how much you are willing to pay for it. D|S is (or has been) free, so you cannot ask for better than that. Over three years or so, I have managed to produce some first-rate models with it and learned an awful lot. I still prefer it to Poser, for example. Are the current difficulties an aberation - something encountered only rarely - or can I expect a recurrence as my ambitions grow and I produce more elaborate models? I don’t know. We must wait and see. For now, I shall press on, trying to find a cause and a solution.
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For you and anyone else learning about 3D (and yourself) then all I can say is that D|S will give you a lot of fun.

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The perennial problem with democracies is that of choosing leaders. It’s like picking teachers of sex education in schools - those who would be good at it don’t want to do it, while those who are keen would best be behind iron bars.

DS is all I’ve used so far. But a few months ago I picked up Poser Pro 2010 for cheap at Amazon. I’ve yet to have a go at it, though. But I haven’t done much of anything, so that doesn’t mean anything.

In my experience - for what it is worth - Poser is very good indeed with textures, which makes it a favourite among those who like to make fabrics or pretty complexions, but neither Poser nor D|S are very good when it comes to construction. For that, you need Hexagon. However, much is personal preference - there is something about one’s way of thinking and working that either engages with a program or does not. Personally, the greatest problem that I have with Poser is the English language. I am a native English speaker and well educated, yet the way that Poser uses English (both in the program and the manual) constantly jars with me, leading me astray. “Oh, by ‘xxxx’ they mean ‘yyyy’ ” I find myself saying. Nor is this simply because the authors are American - far too often, the very LAST consideration of manufacturers is the instruction book for users.
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Try it. You may like it or you may not.

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The perennial problem with democracies is that of choosing leaders. It’s like picking teachers of sex education in schools - those who would be good at it don’t want to do it, while those who are keen would best be behind iron bars.

Well, I have Hexagon 2.5, so that’s what I’d use for modeling anyway. However, there has been a lot of talk about Silo lately. A lot of people seem to like it very much and find it easier to do things with than Hexagon. I don’t have money to throw around on new things like that, so I’ll stick with Hexagon. They say it’s better since the update late last year.

The other thing that’s nice with Poser is the cloth room…you can make your own dynamic cloth! I don’t know how difficult it is to do so, but those who have recently tried rave about how easy it is and how much nicer dynamics are over conforming items.

Oh, and on the English language…I find that the literacy rate is much lower than advertised. At least that’s my determination based on what I see in forums and emails and even professional advertising and news articles. I can’t believe some of the things I see coming from big businesses and top news agencies!

As for Poser’s manual, I haven’t read through it yet. But at least it comes with a manual!

LOL. I have not tried Silo, but if it is more stable than Hexagon, then it will be very well worth trying. Even the latest version of Hexagon will crash if you just wave your mouse at it! (And I’m not kidding.)
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I agree entirely about literacy, but my main complaint about Poser rests upon the fact that in 50 years of life, it has been subject to countless revisions under loads of different teams, one of whom has gone into print saying that the program is so complex that even they (the programmers) do not always understand what it is doing.
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As for the manual - good luck. There are countless passages in it - even whole pages together - when having read, I have laid it down and asked, “OK - what has he/she actually SAID?” I have published several books on computing and even after retirement continued to lecture on the subject. I once gave a fellow-lecturer the Poser manual and asked him to comment. He returned after an hour with two huge sections circled. “This is meaningless,” he said, “and this is fine if you know it already.” Exactly. The manual is not written with the tyro in mind but with the intention (it appears) of impressing the user with the status of the writer(s).
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BTW, your instincts appear to be sound. Last evening I reinstalled D|S and so far today there have been no more ghastly errors. Keep your fingers crossed.

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The perennial problem with democracies is that of choosing leaders. It’s like picking teachers of sex education in schools - those who would be good at it don’t want to do it, while those who are keen would best be behind iron bars.

LOL. I have not tried Silo, but if it is more stable than Hexagon, then it will be very well worth trying. Even the latest version of Hexagon will crash if you just wave your mouse at it! (And I’m not kidding.)

Not good to know.
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skipper25 - 30 May 2012 11:11 AM

I agree entirely about literacy, but my main complaint about Poser rests upon the fact that in 50 years of life, it has been subject to countless revisions under loads of different teams, one of whom has gone into print saying that the program is so complex that even they (the programmers) do not always understand what it is doing.

Also not good to know.

skipper25 - 30 May 2012 11:11 AM

As for the manual - good luck. There are countless passages in it - even whole pages together - when having read, I have laid it down and asked, “OK - what has he/she actually SAID?” I have published several books on computing and even after retirement continued to lecture on the subject. I once gave a fellow-lecturer the Poser manual and asked him to comment. He returned after an hour with two huge sections circled. “This is meaningless,” he said, “and this is fine if you know it already.” Exactly. The manual is not written with the tyro in mind but with the intention (it appears) of impressing the user with the status of the writer(s).

Even less good to know, although I’ve seen quite a few people saying the manual really helps them.

skipper25 - 30 May 2012 11:11 AM

BTW, your instincts appear to be sound. Last evening I reinstalled D|S and so far today there have been no more ghastly errors. Keep your fingers crossed.